Fife rails and running rigging

[Keith S]

I'm looking for some opinions about the likely location of fife-rails on the HMS Terror. I'm in the process of building deck fittings around the foremast on my model. I already know that the OCCRE model has some inaccuracies in this area, and have scratch-built a windlass and bell tabernacle. I'm running into some confusion pertaining to a seeming scarcity of belaying pins at the foremast in all the drawings I can find of this ship's actual configuration. The model kit has bitts straddling the bowsprit where it enters the deck, with pin racks between them,  but these are not depicted in any drawings of the actual ship I can find. The thing is, these drawings DO show pin-racks on the port and starboard rails, as well as a fife-rail aft of the mainmast. 

 

Again, The drawings do not depict any spider-bands or pin-racks at the base of the foremast or the mizzenmast. 
 

Adding to my frustration, photographs from the wreck herself clearly show a spider-band on the mizzen. 

 

I'm unable to find any rigging information on the Terror or the Erebus, so I'm reduced to making educated guesses, only I'm NOT educated. 

 

I'm wondering if anyone here can volunteer an opinion about what might be missing, if anything, from the drawings of the foremast. It's either a spider-band, a fife-rail, or maybe the running rigging of the foremast simply all terminated at the side pin-racks?

 

[Mark P]

Good Afternoon Keith;

 

One possibility is that the two carrick bitts, one at each end of the windlass, had a pin rail between them, which could have curved round over the two bitts which hold the pawls of the windlass. I know that I have seen this on other draughts or models, although I cannot mention a specific example.

 

That all depends upon how high the top of the carrick bitts etc was above the barrel of the windlass, as the coils of rope hanging from the pins would need to be clear of the cables.

 

All the best,

 

Mark P